'Indians not getting loans in Malaysia'

Kuala Lumpur, Sep 2 : A business lobby of Malaysian Indians has claimed that the government financing agency Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) has not given loans to any of the 200 people it had recommended for micro-financing after conducting a nationwide survey this year.

"We sent the list to AIM but to date, none of the candidates had received loans," said Malaysian Indian Business Association (MIBA) president P. Sivakumar.

Sivakumar said AIM, which was set up to help all Malaysians, should reveal how much it had disbursed to poor Indians over the last six months.

"It should be transparent by releasing the list. We want to know why AIM is not giving poor Indians a chance to benefit from its micro-financing services," he said.

The report had stated that AIM had helped 190,000 so far, disbursing RM2.6 billion in micro-financing to members, nearly all of whom were women.

Sivakumar suggested AIM set up a special board with representatives from Indian non-governmental organisations to help channel funds.

Meanwhile, AIM consultant for the Indian community, M. Sivalingam, said MIBA should send its complaints to the chairman of the AIM board.

He said AIM would entertain requests from any group or individual who required loans.

--IANS